PS4 is best-selling console again in May as game sales swell 52%

As the previous console generation stretched into its eighth year, game sales had nearly slowed to a halt. It took the release of the PS4 and Xbox One to begin the recovery process, but May 2014 represents the first period in six months that software sales haven’t seen a decline. In fact, total video game sales were up 52% from May 2013, owing to both a 95% growth in hardware sales and the release of Watch Dogs and Mario Kart 8.

“After 6 months of declines, software rebounded in May 2013 driven by new launches such as Watch_Dogs, Mario Kart 8, Wolfenstein: The New Order, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Kirby: Triple Deluxe.”

If you had any doubt that Mario Kart 8 could be a console seller in its own right, the Wii U racing game was the second best-selling title in May after releasing in the United States on May 30th. After being on sale for 48 hours, Mario Kart 8 topped every new game on the market other than Watch Dogs. As a result, the Wii U saw a much-needed year-over-year growth.

All in all, last month was a positive sign for the entire industry, but Sony was the biggest winner as the PS4 led hardware sales for the fifth consecutive month. Even the PS Vita had a good month on the back of the new Borderlands 2 hardware bundle.

This was another huge month for games, and as the release schedule begins to fill out later in the year, we should expect to see some repeat performances.